Chapter 102: The Culinary Tycoon

Xiang Man Yuan

The next day, when Brother Chang and other employees came over, they saw a corner of the stove was missing, which surprised them all. They asked one after another what happened.

Chang Le lowered his head, blushing intensely.

Naturally, this kind of question couldn’t be answered by his wife, so he had to take the blame himself. Yu Qingze touched his nose and said, “Yesterday, I saw a little mouse crawling on it, so I grabbed a wooden stick from the door and tried to hit it. Unexpectedly, I used too much force and knocked the stove.”

Chang Le gave Yu Qingze a glare. Who’s the mouse?

Yu Qingze: …

“There’s a mouse?” Brother Chang’s mother exclaimed in astonishment. He inspected the kitchen for a while and asked, “Were the vegetables bitten?”

Chang Le: …

Yu Qingze: …

Yu Qingze touched his nose and replied, “Uncle Mo, I checked, and nothing was bitten. That mouse was quick-witted and ran away immediately. I didn’t manage to hit it. After we close today, I’ll get someone to come and fix it.”

Upon hearing that the ingredients weren’t damaged, Brother Chang’s mother breathed a sigh of relief and said, “I’ll have Brother Chang go buy some rat poison later, just to be safe.”

Yu Qingze glanced at Chang Le and held back his laughter, nodding in agreement. “Alright.”

That day, something big happened at the restaurant next door—Xiang Man Yuan. It caused quite a commotion in the morning.

According to a nearby street vendor, a man in his fifties rushed into the restaurant, shouting and cursing. He even smashed many things, scaring away a lot of customers.

Yu Qingze and the others looked from outside but couldn’t quite make out what the argument was about. All they knew was that it was quite intense. It seemed like someone had been hit by a chair, resulting in a bleeding head, and a doctor had been called.

Later, they heard from customers who were eating dim sum in the restaurant that the man in his fifties was the owner and head chef of a restaurant called “Wu Wei Xuan” in the eastern part of the city. The reason he caused a scene was that his most trusted apprentice, his right-hand man, had betrayed him and switched to Xiang Man Yuan. The owner of Xiang Man Yuan offered the apprentice twice the monthly salary he was receiving at “Wu Wei Xuan” to lure him over.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

If it was just that, the owner of Wu Wei Xuan might not be so furious, only blaming himself for not recognizing people clearly and raising a wolf cub. However, not only did his eldest apprentice leave, but he also brought out Wu Wei Xuan’s several signature dishes, that the owner had taught him, at Xiang Man Yuan.

Wu Wei Xuan was able to establish itself in Tongshan City for so long precisely because of those signature dishes. Now that they were being offered at Xiang Man Yuan, Wu Wei Xuan’s business immediately suffered.

This eldest apprentice had been with the owner of Wu Wei Xuan since he was a teenager, for over a decade. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the owner was both his teacher and his father figure. Yet, he betrayed him for money and pushed him onto a dead-end path. No wonder the owner was so angry.

“Sigh, that’s why, in our line of work, it’s not easy to find an apprentice. If you don’t see them clearly, your craftsmanship can be stolen,” said Boss Liu as he sat under the osmanthus tree, chatting with Yu Qingze in the afternoon. He sighed as he talked about the situation.

“Yeah, the risks are high,” Yu Qingze poured him a cup of tea and continued, “But if we want to expand our business, we have to take in a few apprentices. Otherwise, relying solely on our family members won’t work. It’s too tiring.”

Boss Liu took a sip of tea and said, “That’s true. Take my noodle shop, for example. I can only achieve this much by relying on my family members. And you, it’s so easy for you to teach your craft to others. Not only to me and the Cai family, but also to the dim sum shop. Aren’t you afraid that one day they’ll learn it and be lured away by someone else?”

“Of course, I’m afraid. How could I not be?” Yu Qingze didn’t hide anything and said, “That’s why I choose people from the village now. Grandpa and Brother Le know them well. They’ve grown up together under Grandpa’s eyes, and Brother Le has known them since childhood. They know their personalities to some extent. Plus, they’re all from the same village. If any of them were really like the owner’s eldest apprentice, they wouldn’t have a good life in the village first. The villagers would drown them in gossip. If they were recruited from outside, I would also worry. It’s okay for them to work as servers, but as apprentices, I need to know their background and understand their character.”

This world is not like his previous life. In his previous life, the world had undergone thousands of years of cultural accumulation. Every industry had gathered a magnificent culture accumulated by countless predecessors, with plenty of experiences and methods for future generations to learn from. Take cooking, for example. There are dedicated culinary schools that teach the craft, and with the advancement of information, you can find almost any recipe online. Of course, to truly excel, one can only learn from a master, as many secret techniques are not taught in training schools. Moreover, the masters are selective when choosing apprentices, and the standards are quite strict. Overall, it is much better than this world.

Furthermore, in his previous life, being a chef had developed into a profession, and changing jobs was a normal career choice. The various signature dishes one learned served as a stepping stone in the culinary industry.

In this world, history is short, and development and accumulation in various fields are relatively slow and shallow. There are fewer means of making a living, and everyone highly values their secret techniques, keeping them tightly guarded and not sharing them.

In this context, his biggest advantage is being able to make money with any skill recipe he comes up with. But precisely because he is in this world, finding apprentices becomes even more important than in his previous life.

Boss Liu sighed and said, “You can’t see through a person’s heart just by appearances. Like that boss, he certainly didn’t expect that after a dozen years of master-apprentice relationship, it would come to this.”

“Hahaha, that’s why it falls on the boss to handle this,” Yu Qingze laughed and then asked Boss Liu, “Why do you think the apprentice left Wu Wei Xuan for Xiang Man Yuan?”

Boss Liu stared and said, “For money! Didn’t the boss say that Xiang Man Yuan offered him double the monthly salary?”

Yu Qingze shook his head and said, “Perhaps, or perhaps not. We have only heard one side of the story, not the whole picture.”

“What do you think could be the reason, then?” Boss Liu asked.

“There are several possibilities,” Yu Qingze explained one by one to Boss Liu. “First, money, as we just mentioned. Second, perhaps Xiang Man Yuan has a better environment? This environment includes various factors, such as the ambiance of the restaurant. Xiang Man Yuan is newly opened, so just from the exterior, it appears more modern than Wu Wei Xuan, right? And I heard that the kitchen in Xiang Man Yuan has been renovated, it’s spacious and clean. For a chef, having a spacious and clean kitchen can greatly improve their mood for cooking. Just imagine.”

Boss Liu pondered for a moment and nodded. “That makes sense.”

“Furthermore, apart from the restaurant environment, the overall environment also includes the relationships between people. This could be another aspect. Perhaps the owner of Xiang Man Yuan promised him other benefits, such as being the head chef and not having to consider the opinions of other chefs. Something along those lines.”

Boss Liu frowned and said, “I don’t quite agree with that. He is the apprentice of that owner, and it’s normal for a master to give guidance to their apprentice. Isn’t that allowed?”

“It’s understandable for a master to discipline an apprentice when they make mistakes, but what if the master frequently scolds the apprentice without reason? Of course, I’m not referring to that owner and his apprentice specifically; I’m just giving an example. However, that apprentice indeed didn’t handle the situation well.”

“Regardless, betraying one’s master like that is simply unacceptable.”

Yu Qingze smiled and decided not to argue with Boss Liu about this issue anymore. They came from two different worlds with different values, and it was impossible to reach a consensus. If he were to talk about equality between people, someone might think he was crazy.

Whether an employee can receive enough respect in the workplace is an important factor in their decision to leave. After all, many people quit their jobs because they can’t stand their boss or supervisor’s bad temper. Additionally, the quality of interpersonal relationships within a company is also a major factor.

Fortunately, the atmosphere in their snack shop was good. Mainly because Yu Qingze paid them a decent salary and provided breakfast and lunch. As the boss, he respected his employees and didn’t resort to constant scolding. Moreover, compared to the standard one day off per month in this world, they had four days off, which was a great benefit.

However, they still needed to establish formal systems and introduce a reward and punishment system to standardize things. As they continued working, it was inevitable that some employees would be more diligent than others, and they needed to differentiate and address that, or else grievances might arise among the staff.

After pondering for a while, Yu Qingze said, “Setting that aside, today I heard from a customer that the owner of Xiang Man Yuan not only poached chefs from Wu Wei Xuan but also a few others?”

Boss Liu nodded and replied, “I heard about that too. If you open a restaurant in the future, you need to be careful.”

“Yes, I will be cautious,” Yu Qingze assured him. Boss Liu didn’t need to say it explicitly; he had already taken it seriously. Yu Qingze nodded and added, “Brother, I’ve been thinking about opening a restaurant. If you hear any news about a vacant shop on Beida Street, please let me know. Something like a large two-story one would be great.”

“Alright, no problem,” Boss Liu readily agreed.

The incident at the neighboring Xiang Man Yuan caused a splash, but it quickly subsided.

Gossip is never lacking in life. Even in a snack shop, familiar customers gather around to eat and chat, and the subject of gossip has shifted from Xiang Man Yuan to other places.

For example, recently, people often saw the newly appointed county magistrate attending various evening banquets. They were attended by prominent families and wealthy merchants, and the magistrate would often get heavily drunk before leaving. There were also rumors that Xiang Man Yuan next door had invited the county magistrate to dine there, not just once but multiple times. It was even said that the county magistrate went to Xinghua Lane with them. Later, the county magistrate was caught in the act by Madam Luo and was dragged out.

Yu Qingze chuckled. He would stroll around the shop every day and could hear quite a bit of gossip.

In the inner courtyard of the county yamen, Madam Luo got off the carriage and went straight back to his room. Luo Mingda followed behind with an anxious expression and entered as well.

“Oh, wife, I feel dizzy…” As soon as they entered the room, Luo Mingda began pretending to feel lightheaded. He supported his head with one hand and sneakily glanced at his wife, who was sitting at the table.

Seeing that hus wife didn’t react, Luo Mingda hesitantly walked to the table, poured a glass of water, and handed it to Madam Luo, saying, “Would you like a cup of tea?”

Madam Luo turned his head away, refusing to look at him.

Seeing this, Luo Mingda became agitated. He plopped down on a chair and gulped down the glass of water. Then he grumbled, “Let me tell you, I haven’t touched any of those brothel gers. It’s just that the people who invited me were too enthusiastic. I couldn’t refuse, could I? Didn’t you say we should build good relationships with those prominent families? Please don’t go reporting this to my father, so as not to extend my return date.”

“Since I married you, whenever I go out for fun, I only go to teahouses and restaurants. I rarely visit brothels, and even if I do, it’s just for some drinks and harmless flirtation. I haven’t had a good time in ages. My reputation as a playboy in the capital has been stolen, and I’ve been mocked by others for a long time…”

Luo Mingda rambled on without realizing that Madam Luo’s face had turned pale.

“Oh? So, you want to reclaim your reputation as a playboy, go to Qin Lou Chu Guan, and have some fun with those brothel gers, right?” Madam Luo was furious and blurted out things he wouldn’t normally say.

“Why would you think that?!” Luo Mingda exclaimed, shocked. “When did I ever say that? I’ve already married you. How could I go and seek out brothel gers? It would just be a show, you know…”

Madam Luo took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and told himself not to be too hasty. He had been mixing in this world for so long, and it was impossible to change everything all at once.

“The imperial laws strictly prohibit officials from entering Qin Lou Chu Guan, and anyone found in violation will never be employed. Do you know what intentions those people had when they invited you to that place? Are you trying to ruin your future?”

Luo Mingda fell silent for a moment upon hearing this and said, “Alright, I understand. I’ll refuse from now on.” With that, he went to his study room.

Madam Luo watched his retreating figure and let out a long sigh.

The steward had confiscated all of his husband’s money. He had hoped that this incident would serve as an opportunity to restrain his husband and help him change his bad habits, to stand up and make progress. This task was indeed extremely challenging.

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Thandar: I mean, it’s ok to switch jobs, but don’t reveal trade secrets. People like that cannot be trusted. If they can do that to their old job, they can do that again to their new job. Best not to hire them.